MAY 11, 1998

A Formula 1 soap

THE British Broadcasting Corporation is working on a plan to produce a 10-episode television series based on Grand Prix racing.

THE British Broadcasting Corporation is working on a plan to produce a 10-episode television series based on Grand Prix racing. Former rock and roll star Adam Faith has been commissioned by the BBC to produce the series and he was in Barcelona during the weekend in the company of two top television scriptwriters. We understand that Faith will play a character based on Bernie Ecclestone.

The two not only look alike but they have actually been friends since the 1960s when Faith was one of Britain's top pop singers. He went on to build a successful empire in music production and management, overseeing the careers of Leo Sayer and Roger Daltrey. He and Ecclestone are not only friends but also business partners in a number of property ventures in London. The TV series is expected to be filmed next year and will probably be aired in the autumn of 1999. The only problem with the idea is that the BBC is insisting that there cannot be too much overt sponsorship shown in the film, which is going to be a problem for a sport which has the tradition of putting sponsor names on anything and everything.

It will not be first TV series based on F1. Canadian TV produced a similar show in the late 1970s when Gilles Villeneuve was at the height of his F1 success.